Dead Iowa: A Tale from The Walking Dead Universe
by Scottishpearl
Summary: When Summer grew up in her parent's survivalist commune she never imagined the skills she learned would be so handy. Then the dead started walking and hunting the living for food, and those skills became essential to keeping herself, her husband, and her son alive. Guided by her training as well as her gut, Summer struggles to help her family and group survive in Dead Iowa
1. Chapter 1

PART ONE

"It's been two days. We should get going again soon," Summer said and sipped from her assigned water bottle.

"Why? We've been safe so far. There's no rush. The kids are happy here, let's just let them enjoy it a little," Molly replied, watching her children Henry and Samantha playing in the fenced in yard behind the house.

Summer shook her head, and glanced out the window to see her son Bobby rolling on the ground and laughing. It had been too long since she'd seen a smile like that on his face, and the whoops and hollers of the game they were playing were sweet sounds that were too absent in the world they lived in now. But they were also dangerous in this world. They could alert anyone, anything, to their presence. And then they'd have no choice but to run again. Summer believed it was better to keep moving, every couple of days if not every day. There wasn't any place safe enough to settle in, and no place with enough supplies to keep them stocked for very long. They had to keep moving, because that was the world they lived in. You stopped too long, and something would catch up to you.

"They shouldn't be so loud. Someone might hear them." Summer pushed open the sliding door to the backyard and called to the children to keep the noise down.

Molly scoffed. "You're too hard on them. The yard is fenced in, the fencing is strong, we checked. Even if something hears them and comes tapping, it can't get in."

"Unless it's a herd. Or alive. We have to be smart, can't let our guard down. It's important the children learn that too. It's important they have the skills they need in case something should happen." Summer picked up her pistol for the third time in the last twenty minutes and checked the clip. They needed more ammunition. If the men didn't get back soon, they'd have some tough decisions to make.

"Stop it. We haven't seen any roamers in as long as we've been here. No people either. Relax."

"Relax and we're dead. You relax, I'll keep us alive." Summer pushed her pistol into the holster in her waistband at her back and moved to check the front of the house.

She wouldn't say it, because saying it made it real, but she was worried about the men. She was worried about her husband. He and Molly's husband and the other man they travelled with had split from the group two days ago when they'd found this neighborhood. They had intended to travel a bit further into the town looking for supplies. It wasn't that they didn't take longer supply runs, or that two days was even the longest they'd been separated, but there was something about this one that made Summer uneasy.

That happened sometimes. She'd have a feeling, and then something would happen. She'd learned to listen to them, but never to voice them. No use causing panic in everyone in case it was the one time her feelings were wrong. Besides, Molly hated Summer's feelings and thoughts. In fact, Summer was pretty certain that Molly just plain hated her period. Sure, she enjoyed the safety Summer's survival training gave her and her family, and she enjoyed the chance for her kids to play with another child, but in the end, if the world was what it used to be and not what it had become, Summer and Molly would not have been friends. They wouldn't even have been acquaintances. The end of the world sure made strange alliances.

"Summer…" Molly's strained voice barely reached Summer's ears.

"What is it?" Summer moved back towards where Molly stood watching the children. She glanced out the window, and noticed the children standing stock still and quiet. The hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end. Pulling her knife from its holster at her hip, she slid open the door and moved through to the backyard. She was barely out the door when she heard it. The low, raspy moan and weak banging of a roamer at the fence.

"Hey, Bobby, Henry, Samantha, why don't you move into the house with Molly. I'll take care of this. Nothing to worry about," Summer calmly told the kids as she walked past them, trusting they wouldn't question her orders. She kept her eyes on where the sound came from.

Her breath came in even, shallow draws and she felt her adrenaline rising. She peeked through the slat in the fence, and there it stood. The face was nearly completely rotted away, both eyeballs hanging down the cheeks and the lower jaw gone. The slimy tongue lolled back and forth in its gaping mouth, and the few strands of hair remaining on its head were black and curly. The button down shirt and knee length skirt it wore showed signs of once having been teal and black, but now were caked in mud and torn from rambling in the woods. The intestines hung from a cavernous hole in its gut. Obviously she had been someone's meal before she started hunting herself. Poor woman, or used to be woman, or however you wanted to look at it.

Summer whistled a few notes, and the creature paused a moment before turning towards the sound and moving to stand in front of the small gap between the slats where Summer stood watching it. She waited for it to lean its face, or what remained of it, against the wood, and then slipped her knife through the slat and easily into the softened skull and brain of the roamer. The creature collapsed in a finally dead heap as she withdrew the blade. Summer was glad she'd gone for the bowie knife the last time they'd pillaged an outdoors store, it was perfect for what she needed it to do. Wiping the mess from it before sheathing the blade again, she scaled gracefully up the fence side to peak over the top, listening for sounds of any other creatures approaching. Satisfied that this was the only roamer near them so far, she turned towards the house and her heart leapt.

Standing at the window, holding Bobby in his arms, was Jake, her husband. He kissed his son on the forehead, and Summer knew the whispers between them were of reassuring words to calm Bobby's nerves and keep him from spiraling into a panic attack. He'd had a few of them before everything went to hell, and now the strain of the new way of life in this world of madness brought them on more and more frequently. But Jake could always calm Bobby. He had always been a good father. At least some things didn't change no matter how many dead bodies got up and started walking around trying to eat you.

"Hey babe," Jake said and kissed Summer on the lips as she entered.

"I'm so glad you're back. I was worried. Did you have any luck?"

"We had great luck. The trucks are loaded up with supplies. Ammo, meds, food, water, clothes. Best trip yet. And we found a lot of gas too. We filled anything we could find that would hold it. And I found this for you."

Jake reached into the front pocket of his fisherman's vest and pulled out a necklace of black pearls. Setting it in Summer's hand he smiled at her.

"Remember how we said before we got married that I would buy you one of those someday? Well, I made good on my promise."

Summer felt a tear form in her eye and roll down her cheek before she could stop it. There had been a lot of promises of what they would do and where they would be after their marriage. But Bobby had come along and they'd worked dead-end jobs to make ends meet, always dreaming of something more someday. And then the dead had started to walk, and anything they'd ever planned was gone forever.

"Ah babe, I don't want to make you sad, I thought you'd be happy."

"No, no, I am. Thank you. It's just…reminders of what we were before. But it's beautiful. Thank you," Summer said, opening the clasp and slipping it around her neck before closing it. She smiled for her husband. She did that now. She hid her emotions, pretended everything was okay. For herself, for her son, for her husband, and for the other members of the group. No matter how bad it got, she always put on a brave face and pushed forward. You did that or you died.

"You thinking one more night and then move on?" Jake finally asked.

Summer nodded.

Molly moved into their conversation. "I think we should stay longer. Get a real rest. We've hardly seen any roamers since we've been here and no other people. Why not really get ourselves strong before moving on again to uncertainty?"

"What do you think Allen?" Jake asked the man who stood watching the sun begin to set in the sky.

"I think both points are valid. So far we've been moving on in two or three days, but we've got the possibility here of taking a longer rest."

"You rest too long, something catches up to you. We have to keep moving," Summer insisted.

"I say a few more days won't hurt, probably can only help," Allen responded.

"I agree," Mark chimed in as he stood with his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Sounds like we have a consensus to stay a little longer," Allen noted.

Summer placed her hands on her hips and looked at the ground as she tried to keep herself calm. There was a panic rising in her that made her think her feeling hadn't been about what might happen to her husband while he was gone but about what would happen after he got back.

"What is it Summer?" Jake asked, seeing the concern crossing her face as she stared at the floor.

Summer chewed her lip and furrowed her brows.

"You have a feeling don't you? What is it?" Jake asked, concern entering his voice.

Summer glanced up at him and sighed. "Yes. I have a feeling. It started a little while ago when we were waiting for you to come home."  
"But they came home just fine. Your feelings really are the silliest thing," Molly tsked and rolled her eyes.

"You may think they're silly but they're never wrong. Maybe we should plan on leaving first thing in the morning then," Jake glanced around at the other adults in the group.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," Samantha said, wrapping herself around her mother's legs.

"Alright dear, let's get you something to eat," Molly said and grabbing her daughter's hand, moved towards the kitchen counter where the bags of food sat.

The rest of the adults looked from one to the other in silence, trying to decide what to do. Did they ignore Summer's premonition and risk it for the chance to have a break from always traveling and searching for somewhere to be safe for a while or did they move on again?

"I think Molly is right, we should stay. We could all do with a real rest, and the kids are happy here. They have the fenced in yard to play in. They get to have a bit of childhood back right now. Can we please just enjoy something for once?" Mark said.

"You let your guard down, and-" Summer started.

"We get it, Summer. You're all doom and gloom and something's going to get us. We've heard enough of it! And you know what? If something is going to get us then at least we can enjoy some of our time before we go," Mark interrupted and stormed off, slamming the front door behind him.

Jake placed his hand on Summer's shoulder and smiled at her comfortingly. "He'll be alright. He had a close call in town."

"You said it was a good run."

"Even good runs have dangers. He just didn't want to worry Molly with it."

Summer glanced over at Molly, who sat at the counter with Samantha, watching her eat the crackers she'd served out for her, and glancing over at the group of adults discussing their future. She was pleased her husband had blown up at Summer. Summer angered her with her constant harping about the dangers they faced and how they had to keep moving or die and trying to show them how to use weapons and forage foods. She was sick of Summer acting like she ruled the group, like she was the best one here, the only one with any skills.

And she was sick to death of Summer's feelings. They hadn't proven enough to keep her sister and brother-in-law alive. In fact, following them and heading out when they had from a previous camp had only served to make them an easy target for another group looking to take their things. The attack had left five of their group dead, and the rest running for their lives. Her children had watched their aunt and uncle get cut down with machete's, and narrowly escaped the same fate themselves.

What good were these stupid feelings of Summer's if they didn't actually lead to them being any safer? They only served to upset everyone. Stupid Summer. She wished something would get her so she could be rid of her.

"I say we stay," Allen finally spoke. He glanced from Summer to Jake and waited for their response.

"Summer?" Jake asked.

"I just don't know. Something feels off. I can't shake it. I don't feel right committing to staying here, but if everyone else is in agreement then I can't force it. We'll stay. But we have to keep an eye out. Normal watch rotations, no slacking off just because we assume we're safe. Deal?"

Everyone nodded, and Jake glanced at Molly, who looked pleased with herself for getting her way. He hoped it wouldn't end up being a decision they regretted.

"How about we make some supper? The gas stove still works, and I'm sure we could put together a real feast with what we found in town. Should I go grab some of it?" Jake asked.

Summer nodded, and turned to look out the sliding glass door. She thought about the roamer's body who lay on the other side of the fence. She wondered how many more might be in the area, ready to head their way and gang up on them without warning. Relax, everyone said, but even without her feelings Summer found it impossible to relax. There was no relaxing when every corner of the world held creatures trying to eat you and people trying to take your stuff for themselves. How exactly was she supposed to relax in that?


	2. Chapter 2

PART TWO

Jake stood starring out the front window, his eyes straining against the dark of night to see anything that might be out there. He yawned and stretched a bit, jumping up and down to get the blood flowing and to keep himself awake. They'd been in the house for four days now, longer than they'd stayed anywhere in a while, and everyone except his wife seemed content. Some had expressed thoughts of trying to make it a longer stay, even a permanent one. They'd had little bother from roamers, a few here and there that were easily dispatched, and no other people had entered the area. Jake agreed they'd been safe so far, yet he remained uneasy about the warning feelings Summer kept getting. She'd been unable to relax, barely able to sleep, because of them, and she didn't let Bobby out of her sight.

Everything seemed quiet yet again though, could it be that she was finally wrong for once? Could they have found somewhere to make a home for longer than a few nights? No sooner had these thoughts floated through his brain than he caught a movement in the dark. Too fast to be a roamer, had to be someone alive.

He glanced behind him at Allen who was watching the back of the house, then back out the front. His eyes searched the darkness for the shape he'd seen moving, but there was nothing now.

"Psst, Allen," he whispered towards Allen, who turned and moved to his side.

"What is it?"

"I saw something."

"Roamer?"

"No, too fast for a roamer. Living."

"You think you saw a person? Just one? Where?" Allen stared out the window, his eyes searching but seeing nothing.

"Last I saw, they ducked behind the car across the road. I haven't seen them since."

"Do you think they are still there? Do you think they know we're here?"

"Why else would they be sneaking around this neighborhood at night? What do you say? Should we get the others?"

"Yeah, probably better safe than sorry," Allen said, then jumped as he turned to find a large, dark figure watching them through the sliding glass door at the back of the house. He pulled his pistol out and aimed towards the figure, who raised his arms up in a movement of surrender.

"Get the others, I'll hold him here," Allen said as Jake ran for the upstairs where the rest of the group rested.

Allen merely stood his ground, watching the figure, who likewise stood motionless at the door, his arms raised up, and his hands free of weapons. He just waited.

"Oh my god, what are you waiting for? Shoot him!" Molly called as she came into the room and saw the large figure at the door.

"We don't know he's a threat. He hasn't moved, he doesn't have his weapons out, he's put his arms up in surrender. Maybe we should see what he wants."

"What do you mean what he wants? He wants to kill us all, possibly rape some of us, and take our things. What else do they ever want? Shoot him!"

"Don't shoot him, Allen. We'll talk to him first. Calm down Molly, you're so quick to give orders to make us murderers but you're not even capable of killing a roamer let alone another human being yourself. Why don't you just go stay with the kids and let us handle it?" Summer said, sliding her knife from its holster and moving towards the man at the door.

"I'm going to open the door, and you're going to stay where you are or I'll cut you where you stand. Do we have an understanding?" Summer said.

The man nodded, and Summer slid the door open, her knife ready to make good on her threat if need be.

"Let's start with who you are and what you're doing coming around here at night?" Summer watched the large man for any muscle twitch that would give warning of a coming assault. None presented itself. So far, so good.

"My name's Drake. I'm alone. I've been watching your group for a couple days, you seem like good people. I'm looking for a group, people to be around, I've been alone too long. You get kind of crazy if you are alone too long."

"You've been watching us?"

"Nothing pervy, just seeing what kind of group you are. You can't be too careful. It seems like your group is pretty sane still. I could use a group like that."

Summer looked into the eyes of the very large black man standing before her. Nothing about him seemed to immediately set off her warning bells, and it was true that being alone for too long in this world could lead to very dark places for people, but it was impossible to be sure who was on the up and up and who was running a game on you. She had the group and especially the kids to think about before she allowed someone new to get into their midst.

"You understand we're a bit leery about letting new people in," she finally said.

"Yeah. Like I'm leery of putting myself in a new group of people. But you outnumber me. I'm the one taking the greatest risk here."

Summer chewed on the inside of her upper lip as she thought. "Wait here. I'll have to discuss this. You make a move and it'll be your last. Don't test us." She closed the door and moved backwards towards Jake, Allen, and Mark.

"What do you guys think?" she asked, her eyes never leaving Drake.

"He says he's alone, and if he wasn't it would probably just have been easier to attack than go this route for his group right?" Mark said.

"Possibly. Depends on how many of them there are. How much of a threat they deem us to be."

"We're a group of three kids and five adults, I don't think many feel threatened by us." Mark muttered.

Summer rolled her eyes at his assessment of their group. She knew there was more to being threatening than numbers. It was about what you were willing to do, how skilled you were, what weapons you had around, and how well you worked together as a team in combat. Except for Mark, Molly, and the kids, the rest of them rated as a decent threat. Both Jake and Allen were ex-military, and she'd been raised as a prepper in a commune learning to fight and survive all manner of situations her whole life. Anyone would be stupid to underestimate them.

"What do your instincts tell you, babe?" Jake asked, always trusting his wife's gut and feelings.

Summer shook her head. "I don't know. He doesn't immediately cause any alarms. And he looks like he can handle himself. If he's been alone as long as he says, he'd have to be able to. We could use more fighters. And he'd have to be smart too. Can't ignore how important that type of knowledge is. I say we give him a shot. Keep an eye on him, don't let him alone with the kids. We can take his weapons for now."

"Yeah, I'm okay with that," Allen answered.

"Me too," Jake said.

"I don't know, Molly won't like it," Mark replied. "She thinks we should just kill him and be better safe than sorry."

"She doesn't get a vote, what do you think aside from her input?" Summer asked.

Mark frowned. He didn't like to go against his wife, she was so fragile in so many ways that his lack of support could set her off. But he couldn't argue with the logic of the rest of the group.

"Yeah, okay, let's give him a try," he finally said, and Summer moved back to the sliding glass door.

Opening it, she held out her hand. The man shook it.

"I'm Summer. That's Jake, Allen, and Mark. Molly is upstairs with the children. We're going to give you a chance to earn our trust and be in our group, but you're on probation and we'll be watching you. Understood?"

"Understood, Summer. I'm Drake." He shook her hand, then waved a hello to the rest of the group.

"I'll go break the news to Molly. She's going to be upset," Mark said, and moved up the stairs, dreading the confrontation he faced.

Summer glanced around the room and pointed to the couch near the wall. "Rooms are taken. You can sleep there. Any weapons you have are mine for now. We have a watch rotation, you'll join tomorrow night. You're not to be alone with the kids ever. You try to maneuver it so you are, you're dead. You try to take more food than you're offered, you're dead. You try to hurt anyone, message someone to attack us, or anything we don't like and you're-"

"Dead. I get it. It's fine. It'll just be nice not to have to watch out for everything myself, and have someone to talk to. Thanks."

Drake gave a slight smile to everyone, then moved to the couch and setting his bag down, began pulling out weapons. He handed over a couple of pistols without bullets, a hatchet, a couple knives, and a crowbar. He seemed almost relieved to unburden himself of the items. Yes, he was putting his safety in their hands completely not having any weapons left, but it was nice to feel free from using them, even if only for a short time.

"That's everything?" Jake asked.

"Yeah. Kind of nice to get rid of it," Drake said.

"You hungry?"

"No, I'm good. I've got some protein bars I've been making do with, and some water still. Be nice to eat something else tomorrow though, but for right now I just want to sleep. I haven't slept, really slept, in a long time."

"Ok. Good night," Jake said, and moved back to his post at the front.

"I can take over now," Summer whispered, moving to stand next to her husband.

"Nah, I got it. You need to get some more rest. You never rest enough."

Summer sighed. "I won't be resting that much tonight with him here now."

Jake turned towards her and wrapped her in his arms. He kissed her forehead, and rested his chin on top of her head.

"You take too much on yourself. We're all here together, you don't have to take all the pressure. Let us, let me at least, help you shoulder it."

Summer nuzzled into his neck. It felt good to melt into him, they didn't get enough time alone these days, and when they did she never felt like much intimacy. That was her problem, though, not his fault. "I'll try. Thank you."

Giving her one last squeeze, Jake released her and motioned towards the stairs. She nodded, and moved up them. When she reached the top, she glanced back towards the couch where their newest member lay. He appeared to be deep asleep already. She knew that kind of tired, and wished she could know that kind of rest finally.

Moving down the hall, she slowly opened the door to the room she shared with Jake and Bobby. She smiled as she approached the queen sized bed and saw Bobby tucked under the lavender comforter, his arms and legs sprawled out so he took up more room than his small body should have. She slipped off her shoes, and pulled back the comforter, crawling under and pulling her son to rest against her. She felt his fingers slip towards her ear and start to play with her lobe like he'd done since he was a baby.

After the world changed, he'd started doing a lot of things like he'd done when he was younger. She didn't mind that much, once he'd settled into the world and felt capable in it he'd get better. She knew it. He had to. She kissed his little forehead and sighed before closing her eyes and praying for sleep to come.


	3. Chapter 3

PART THREE

"We should consider it," Jake whispered to Summer as they walked slowly around the outside of the fenced in yard, checking again for stability.

"No. We've been over this. It's not an option."

Jake paused and watched Summer unsheathe her bowie knife and move confidently towards the male roamer approaching. He hobbled along with his left foot dragging along, bent over at the ankle like it had been broken at some point, his left arm hanging loose at the shoulder, attached by a few ligaments only. His mouth flapped up and down in a movement oddly reminiscent of a fish, his eyes staring straight at Summer as he struggled to pick up speed, his right arm reaching out towards her and flailing back and forth.

Summer grabbed at his neck and jabbed her knife through his skull, damaging the brain and severing the roamer's hold on life. He collapsed at her feet, and she turned back to Jake.

"My parent's are not an option. You know I don't want Bobby subjected to the same childhood I had."

"Seems to have prepared you pretty well for this world," Jake pointed to the dead body at Summer's feet. "And that's the world that Bobby needs to be ready for. Things are never going to be what they were before, at least not any time soon. He needs to be prepared, you've said it yourself. Besides, if any place is going to be consistently safe in this world, it's your parent's compound."

Summer sheathed her knife and looked around. Was she wrong? Should they head for her parent's prepper compound on the other side of the state? If they got a clear roadway, they could be there in about seven hours. She didn't know for sure, she hadn't been back since she'd turned 18 and left, but Jake was right, the place was sure to be there still and probably doing just fine. Every member of the community had been planning and preparing for events just like this end of world they'd encountered. Maybe he was right.

"Molly would never agree to it," she finally said.

"So they don't have to come. Just because we're a group now doesn't mean we can't split off. We've had people leave before. She can do whatever she wants, and we can do whatever we want."

Jake moved closer to Summer, and placed his hands on her hips, drawing her nearer to him. He kissed her pale forehead, and looked into her green eyes. A smile crept across his face as he watched her struggling to act unaffected by his presence. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, then nuzzled into her ear as he whispered.

"Come on, let's at least give it a try."

As he pulled back to look into her face again, he saw her smile and nod before he pulled her still closer and wrapping his arms around to her back kissed her deeply, his hands grabbing handfuls of her long black hair and tangling up in them. He heard her moan as he gently pulled at it, and she jumped up to wrap her legs around his waist. He slammed her body into the fence, his mouth slipped to taste her neck, and then back to her lips. His body screamed with need of her, and he felt hers wanting to answer. It had been so long since she'd expressed a need for him. He tugged at her hair again and nipped at her earlobe.

"Oh Jake…" she cooed as he pulled still harder on her hair.

"Tonight," he whispered in her ear before pulling back and letting her feet hit the ground. Their breath came heavy as they took a moment to compose themselves before heading back towards the door to the house.

"Where have you two been?" Molly asked with venom in her voice as they moved towards the kitchen.

"Checking the area outside the fence. There were more roamers. It's going to be time to go soon," Summer said, grabbing a box of crackers and pulling out a handful.

Molly sneered at her. "I'm sick of you. I'm sick of you thinking you know better just because you grew up like a freak in that stupid prepper cult. Just shut up about it."

Summer barely managed to hold herself back from slamming her fist through Molly's smug face. Her eyes narrowed and she clenched her hands in fists at her sides, but she didn't allow herself to move an inch until she felt certain she wasn't going to attack Molly. Her temper was short these days, with little sleep and feeling like the weight of the world rested on her shoulders.

"Well you may just get your wish. We're heading to my parent's compound outside Sioux City tomorrow. You can come if you want, or you can stay. I don't care anymore. But let me just say that if you're smart, you'll stick with us. Without us, you can't protect your children. Think about it before you open your damn mouth again."

"You bitch. I don't have to think about it! We don't need you! We don't need you or your freak son or-"

Summer moved before Molly had a chance to react and grabbing her by the throat, slapped her across the face as hard as she could, splitting Molly's lip and raising a hand-shaped bruise instantly. She followed it with a backhand to the other cheek before shoving Molly onto the kitchen floor and pressing her foot into her chest, holding her down.

Molly's eyes grew wide as blood poured from her nose and split lip and tears flowed down her bruised and swollen cheeks. She lay still on the floor, looking up at Summer and whimpering.

"Fight back! Fight back you pathetic-" Summer yelled, daring Molly to prove she didn't need Summer.

"Summer…" Jake moved towards his wife, placing his hand on her arm as Mark came running down the stairs with Drake and Allen behind him.

"What the hell are you doing!" Mark shouted, shoving Summer out of the way to help his wife up.

"She attacked me, she's crazy," Molly sniffled as Mark grabbed a towel from the counter and held it to her nose.

Summer stood there for a moment, before glancing around at the concerned expressions of Jake, Drake, and Allen. She turned, and stormed out the door, heading away from the house down the road.

Jake glanced at the kid's standing on the stairs, looking lost and scared. He could see Bobby's breathing start to come in quick gasps. He was headed towards a panic attack.

"Allen, will you…" he asked, pointing towards the kids. Allen nodded, and immediately put on a happy face as he ushered the kids back upstairs with promises of a game of hide and seek.

"Mark, Molly, I'm sorry. But you provoked her. I don't know what you were thinking," Jake said.

"What I was thinking? What was _I_ thinking?" Molly shrieked.

"Shh, dear, it's alright. Let me handle this," Mark said, tucking his wife under his arm and turning his eyes towards Jake.

"Your wife is insane. My Molly couldn't have done anything to deserve this. You need to keep her on a shorter leash."

Jake felt his own blood starting to boil.

"Don't worry, we'll be gone tomorrow. Drake, we're heading to the compound outside Sioux City where Summer grew up. Her parent's are survivalists, they'll be set up for a real sort of life even in this torn down world. You're welcome to come if you want," Jake said, then he too moved out the front door for some air.

Drake watched Mark tending to his wounded wife's injuries with their decent supply of first aid items. He couldn't help thinking that these two and their kids didn't stand a chance if the rest of the group left. He hadn't been part of the group for long, but he'd noticed who was worthwhile and who wasn't. And Molly and Mark were pretty useless. Their children would be the ones to the pay the price for their ineptness and their pride. It bothered him, but could he really stand to take on the responsibility of keeping four people alive when a much better option seemed available?


	4. Chapter 4

PART FOUR

"Mark, they're almost ready to pull out. Are you sure you don't want to go? It sounds like this place her parents had could be something worth checking out," Drake said. He watched Mark munching on the dry cereal he was eating for breakfast.

"Molly doesn't want to go, but you're welcome to," he replied.

Drake shook his head. "I know you want to go. Why do you let her step all over you? You've got two kids to think about. If this place is still in working order, if they've somehow managed to keep it up since the world fell, and it sounds like they were preparing for just such an occasion, it would be worth ruffling her feathers for the sake of your kids."

Mark pushed the box of cereal away and finished chewing his last bite. He sighed, and pushed his hands through his long brown hair. It was past his ear lobes now, much longer than he'd ever worn it, and it was driving him crazy.

"I know it makes sense, but I can't. She's lost so much control over things, Molly just needs to feel like she has some say. We'll be alright. We've been alright so far. We'll figure it out. I can't overrule her on this. Besides, if they really cared about what happened to us they might wait for a while to see if she would change her mind. But no, they can't wait to get rid of us. We're better off without that kind of friendship."

"Mark, you don't have the luxury of putting your wife's feelings above the safety of your family anymore," Drake tried again.

"Enough!" Mark yelled. "I said we're staying. You do what you have to." He stormed from the room, out the sliding glass door and into the fenced in backyard.

Drake kicked at the chair in front of him. He knew that moving on, that trying to make it to this survival community near Sioux City was the best move for them all, and he desperately wanted to go, but he'd seen in the little time he'd been with the group that Mark and Molly lacked basic skills needed in this world. They had been protected my Summer and Jake and Allen's abilities. They'd been lucky to find them. Now, alone, Mark and Molly and especially their kids didn't stand a chance. If he left, he felt he'd be handing them a death sentence as much as if he put a bullet in their heads.

"Mr. Drake, are you going to leave us too?" a little frightened voice came from the stairs. Drake turned to see Samantha sitting and looking through the railing, tears in her eyes.

"No, Samantha, I'm going to stay. Don't be sad." He smiled at her, but kept his distance. Molly still didn't fully trust him, not that he'd given her any reason not to, but her mind was full of paranoia about people when it came to her children.

"Good. But Bobby is leaving. I like Bobby. He plays the best games. I'm going to miss him." A few more tears fell from her eyes.

"That's enough Samantha, you don't need Bobby or his family. We'll be just fine just us," Molly said, coming down the stairs. "Don't you worry. Mommy's here." She sat down next to Samantha and pulled the little girl into her lap. No one could accuse Molly of not loving her children. Her logic might be lacking, but her love never was.

Drake glanced out into the backyard, and watched Mark having a discussion with himself. He punched at the air and kicked the wall of the fence, shaking his head. Drake glanced back at Molly, and wondered if he could work on her, get her to change her mind before Summer and Jake pulled out. He moved to a window at the front of the house, and watched them double checking their supplies. They had split what they had between those staying and those going. Drake had noticed Summer leaving behind more than she took though. Her last little effort to help Mark's family.

"They're almost done loading, they'll be gone soon," Drake said.

"Good. We don't need them," Molly replied, a bit more venom in her voice than seemed justified.

"We could go with them. Might be worthwhile," Drake ventured.

Molly didn't say anything. Drake supposed that was better than yelling at him. He shook his head and turned back towards the window where Summer, Jake, Bobby, and Allen pulled out of the driveway. Well they were in it now.

"They're gone," he said, and he heard Samantha whimper and her mother shooshing her.

"I'm going to do a patrol," Drake said, and grabbed his crowbar and a knife and headed out the door.

The sun felt hot on his face. It was August by their calculations. Soon winter would be here again, and everything would get harder. The only good thing about it was the roamers would freeze in the cold, and slow down or stop completely. He'd travel further then, destroying the brains of any that he came upon, increasing the safety for when the warm weather came again and their activity increased.

They'd have to start stockpiling a heat source too. There were the woods, and they had axes. He and Mark would head out to chop as much as they could. The kids would gather sticks. They had a fire place in the living room. It could work.

Drake was lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear the roamers come up behind him and he realized the smell had gotten closer a bit too late. They grabbed at his shoulders, and he tripped over his feet in the shock of the touch.

"No!" he yelled, kicking at the creature as it came down on top of him, sending it flying away from him a bit and onto the ground. It growled and struggled to crawl towards him. He shoved the other one off his arm, and rolled up before they could reach him again. Grabbing his crowbar, he swung at the head of the nearest one, caving in the skull and dropping it to the ground.

"Come and get it, you stinking shit," he hissed at the remaining roamer. As if it could hear him, it lurched forward, it's grey and rotting arms stretching towards him, his mouth opening in preparation for the feast. Drake swung down, and the crowbar crushed the skull and sent the roamer off to final death.

He glanced around for more before he shook the sludge from the crowbar and moved further down the road. This was life now, and it sucked, but you could find a rhythm in it, a purpose. He swung him arms around a few times, loosening his shoulders. He approached a few roamers standing around an abandoned house and easily dispatched them. He was used to the movements, used to the evasion of their clumsy attempts to catch you, and used to keeping himself moving and watching not to get caught in a corner.

It was important to know when you could approach them for the kill, and when you needed to let them come to you. It depended on group size, theirs and yours. And sometimes it wasn't worth bothering with them. But since he found himself in a unique situation of having to defend four people nearly single handedly, he felt if he could take them out it was for the best. Especially with kids around.

He frowned at the thought. He'd sought out to join a group to share the burden of survival, not to gain the heavy burden of unskilled dependents. He should have abandoned them. If he was being smart, he would have, but sometimes it was hard to completely shed the old way of doing things. He couldn't leave someone in need like that. Well, he probably could have left Molly, but not the kids. That woman was damn lucky those kids were there to win her pity.

He turned to head back towards the house, taking a circle path around the neighborhood, when he was stopped dead in his tracks.

"Damn," he exhaled, staring down a massive herd of roamers, still far off down the road but heading their way. It happened sometimes, they picked up more and more in their groups as they wandered in a path, and they followed each other around like puppies, until at some point they formed a massive group that overwhelmed the area. And here he stood, one man against the biggest herd he'd ever seen. He needed to get back to the house and get them out of there before they were trapped.

He ran as fast as he could back through the streets and into the house.

"We have to go! Now! Pack up what you can, hurry, we are out of here," he called out, moving into the kitchen and starting to throw whatever was at hand into bags.

"What are you doing?" Molly yelped, coming down the stairs.

"Herd. Big one. Moving our way. We have to go. Now. Or we'll be trapped."

Molly's eyes grew large as she raced back up the stairs calling for the kids and yelling for them to grab their things and get downstairs now. Drake flung open the sliding glass and door and yelled at Mark to get a move on.

He came racing inside, driven by terror and adrenaline as he helped Drake toss food into a bag, and then ran to the front window to look out.

"I don't see anything."

"Not yet. They were a good distance off. And we'll want to be a good distance off before they get a chance to see us and follow us. We'll head in the direction Summer's family went. Maybe we'll catch up to them at some point. Either way, we are out of here," Drake said, heading out to the truck with the bags.

Mark followed with bags for the kids and Molly. He moved into the road to look for the herd, but luckily all they had to prove it was coming was the sound of their growling carried on the wind and the sighting by Drake.

"Where are Molly and the kids? We need to go," Drake asked.

Mark raced back inside and up the stairs.

"We need to go! Come on guys!" He stopped as he saw Molly kneeling outside the bathroom door, sobbing and begging for someone to open the door.

"What the hell is this?" Mark asked.

"Samantha and Henry locked themselves in the bathroom. They're terrified. They don't want to go back out in the world. They want to stay. Oh please couldn't we just stay?" Molly wept, caressing the door behind which her beautiful children were huddled.

"We'd be dead if we stayed."

"We could just wait the herd out. We have enough supplies. We could ration. They don't stop, they keep moving. We could just keep quiet, they would never know we were here, and then they would be gone, taking any roamers in the area with them, and we'd be safe. Oh please, Mark, please."

"Molly, I can't risk it. I can't risk your safety and the kids. Get them out of there. We're leaving."

Molly knocked gingerly on the door again and called for the children to come out. They were only greeted with loud wailing and unintelligible stammering.

"Move," Mark said, then took her place in front of the door. "Kids, step back from the door. If you won't open it, I'm coming in." And with that, Mark pulled on all his strength and kicked at the door. A couple more and he had it open. Molly slithered past him into the room and scooped up her babies, and headed down the stairs.

"Oh my God…" she whispered as she caught a glimpse out of the window. The herd was not far down the road now. They'd taken too long.

"Move, get in the car now. We can still get far away from them," Mark ordered in a more forceful voice than he'd used on Molly in a long time. Drake had been right, their safety came over his concerns for his wife's feelings.

She just stood there though, as if she hadn't heard him, as if she was frozen by what she saw instead of driven to action to save her children.

"We're running out of time guys," Drake yelled desperately, peeking his head inside the door.

"Mark, take the kids, I'll take Molly. We have to go. Now," he ordered, as Mark moved to lift the children from Molly's arms and Drake lifted her. She surprisingly didn't fight, so frozen in fear she didn't seem to realize what was happening. The children however were not so frozen, and they sent up screams and sobs as their father shoved them into the back seat of the minivan.

He helped Drake push Molly into the backseat as well, where her children climbed up into her arms still wailing. Then he climbed into the driver's seat while Drake climbed into the truck and headed off down the road as fast as he dared to drive, leaving the hobbling mass of death behind them. They hoped.


End file.
